with GWEN IFILL

FRIDAY, JUNE 7 @ 9:00PM

The National Security Agency is collecting telephone records of millions of Verizon customers under a secret court order [Photo: CNN].

The National Security Agency (NSA) is reportedly collecting millions of Verizon customers’ telephone records. Under the top-secret order, the government cannot record calls but it can obtain the telephone numbers, location, time and duration of calls. The Obama administration defends the order saying it is a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats. And while some top Republican and Democratic members of the Senate Intelligence Committee support the practice, key House Democrats are calling for an investigation into the NSA.

Find out more »

POWER SURGE

SUNDAY, JUNE 9 @ 8:00PM

Can emerging technology defeat global warming? The United States has invested tens of billions of dollars in clean energy projects as our leaders try to save our crumbling economy and our poisoned planet in one bold, green stroke. Are we finally on the brink of a green-energy “power surge,” or is it all a case of too little, too late?

Find out more »

VICTORIA FALLS

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5 @ 6:00PM & 11:00PM

After traveling 1,000 miles from the north, the Zambezi River reaches the edge of one world and plummets 350 feet into another. Victoria Falls, between the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe, is over a mile wide. No other waterfall in the world can match her scale.

The Zambezi is known as the “River of Life” across southern Africa, but surviving by the river near Victoria Falls is not always easy. During the rainy season the Zambezi has a fierceness and a power that is deadly to both animals and humans. At the peak of the rainy season, almost 300,000 gallons of water cascade over the falls every second.

Find out more »

A GRAND TOUR

TUESDAY, JUNE 4 @ 7:30PM & 12:30AM

In Architect Michael Graves: A Grand Tour, host Geoffrey Baer takes us on a voyage through Graves’ career and the influences that shaped him, from his early days studying in Rome to the life-altering events of 2003 – events that changed his personal perspective and brought about a new kind of professional achievement.  (30 minutes)

Find out more »

MANHUNT – BOSTON BOMBERS

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29 @ 7:00PM & 12:00AM

At 2:50 pm on April 15, two bomb blasts turned the Boston Marathon finish line from a scene of triumph to tragedy, leaving three dead, hundreds injured, and a city gripped by heartbreak and terror. Less than five days later, the key suspects were identified and apprehended with one dead, the other in custody.

Find out more »

OUTLAWED IN PAKISTAN

THURSDAY, MAY 30 @ 7:00PM

In Pakistan, women and girls who allege rape are often more strongly condemned than their alleged rapists. Some are even killed by their own families. For this unforgettable documentary, filmmakers Habiba Nosheen and Hilke Schellmann spent years tracing one alleged rape victim’s odyssey through Pakistan’s flawed justice system—as well as her alleged rapists’ quest to clear their names.

Find out more »

DETROPIA

SATURDAY, JUNE 1 @ 7:30PM

Can the Motor City rise from its ashes? This film tells the dramatic story of Detroit and its residents who are refusing to abandon hope. This dynamic cluster of innovators, entrepreneurs, and proud, self-proclaimed “hustlers” is on the brink of creating a radically new city for the postindustrial age.

Detroit was the birthplace of the middle class, an industrial utopia where anyone who worked hard enough could experience the American dream. But today, the Motor City, which has essentially been taken over by the state of Michigan, is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Find out more »

SUNDAY, MAY 26 @ 6:00PM & 7:30PM

AND 10:00PM & 11:30PM

Each year, the “National Memorial Day Concert” presents a unique program honoring the valor and patriotism of Americans who have served our country in times of conflict. The show pays tribute to their sacrifices, as well as those of their families and loved ones.

The program is co-hosted for the eighth year by Tony Award-winner Joe Mantegna (“Criminal Minds”) and Emmy Award-winner Gary Sinise (“CSI: New York”), two acclaimed actors dedicated to supporting veterans and troops in active service. They will be joined by an all-star line-up including: distinguished American leader Gen. Colin L. Powell USA (Ret.) and the National Symphony Orchestra under the direction of top pops conductor Jack Everly

Find out more »

AUDRA MCDONALD IN CONCERT

GO BACK HOME

SATURDAY, MAY 25 @ 9:00PM

By Martin Bookspan

As I’m sure is true for many of you, I first became aware of Audra McDonald from her performance in Terrence McNally’s play, “Master Class.” She played the role of a young, aspiring opera singer attending Maria Callas’s Master Class at New York’s Juilliard School of Music (one of the constituent institutions of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts). As portrayed by McNally, Callas was merciless in assessing the potential of the character played by Miss McDonald. But through it all the brutalized young student maintained a cool and unbowed demeanor. That role won for Audra McDonald one of her five Tony Awards for outstanding performance on the Broadway stage.

Find out more »

VOCES SPECIAL PRESENTATION

SATURDAY, MAY 25 @ 7:00PM

Loreta Velazquez, Havana born and New Orleans raised, was no typical Southern Belle. Master of disguise, bewitching to both sexes, she, was brash, quick-witted, and unconventional. Her 1876 memoir A Woman in Battlescandalized the South when she revealed she had fought as a soldier and spy. Attacked not only for her criticism of the Confederacy and the corruption of wartime society, but for her sexual freedom and social rule breaking, Loreta has been dismissed as a hoax for over a century. But recent evidence including letters, official government documents, newspaper articles and more indicate she was too easily dismissed. Who was she? Why did she fight? And what made her so dangerous she was erased from history?

Find out more »